The Kenyan High Court has reportedly discharged and acquitted Flutterwave Kenya after being charged for operating without a license which lasted for several months. The Nigerian FinTech unicorn has also regained corporate assets the Kenyan regulators confiscated at the time they sanctioned its FinTech services.
The Kenyan regulatory system communed its policies from inland regulators including the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA), and the local High Court to scold the Nigerian FinTech unicorn for defaulting its policy.
Aside from being scolded for operating without a FinTech license, recall that Techbooky Africa reported the lawsuit Flutterwave faced tagged with multiple allegations such as money laundry, card fraud, faux customers database, and other charges.
Flutterwave’s denial of the Kenyan regulators’ allegations didn’t restrain the ARA from freezing the Nigerian FinTech company’s monetary asset, nor restrain the CBK from communing with the MPC to suspend its operations due to no license and sanction its corporate alliance to commercialize with other entities.
The inland High Court approved the lawsuit to scold Flutterwave for defaulting its regulatory policies due to the allegations the ARA claimed the Nigerian FinTech unicorn was siphoning millions of dollars via the Kenyan shillings.
In August 2022, the Kenyan regulatory system scolded Flutterwave alongside another FinTech unicorn from Nigeria incorporated as Chipper Cash. The pressure from the Kenyan regulators influenced Flutterwave to terminate its virtual card services dubbed Barter Card which is used to complete domiciliary transactions.
However, the Nigerian FinTech unicorn denied its indulgence in laundering foreign currencies into the Kenyan money market. At the time, Flutterwave said its enormous business capital was generated from generous offerings from venture capitalists and other angel investors.
Flutterwave gained the limelight in its host country before expanding its FinTech solutions to East Africa which complicated its services. The Nigerian FinTech unicorn is currently worth more than $3 billion in business capital having gained its status quo as an African FinTech giant.
Flutterwave has reportedly raised up to half a billion dollars from foreign investors posing as venture capitalists and angel investors. It is a no-brainer that the Kenyan regulatory system has confirmed the Nigerian FinTech unicorn source of business capital is as legitimate as the entity itself having consent to discharge and acquit Flutterwave.
The Kenyan regulators have also unfrozen Flutterwave’s business account holding the company’s business capital in local shillings. Still, the announcement did not disclose if the Nigerian FinTech unicorn will or has acquired its FinTech license from the local apex bank to continue FinTech operations in Kenya.